New Owner's Diary: Part 2

Another long post bound to bore the old timers here with plenty of "well duh" insights, but hopefully first-time and prospective Ferrari owners will get something out of it.

Two weeks now, and my new-to-me-'87 328 GTS has continued to make all the right noises and get more fun to drive. No major metal parts left behind on the freeway, and the 'timid new owner desperately seeking clutch pedal' feeling is giving way to the 'hell yeah, these pedals and gears are brilliantly located!" feeling.

1. Baptism: I waited a week till after delivery to wash the car. First, black metallic doesn't show dust as plainly as black does, and the car was in a clean enclosed trailer for the NC-CA trip so it was fairly clearn to start. But, more importantly I figured I'd turn the hose on it and the whole thing would go up in display of sparks and I'd later find guppies in the distributor caps.

As I described last time, my passenger window was dead on arrival and the driver's door courtesy light switch was working part time. A trip over to Gary Bobileff's put that right (dirty contacts in the window switch, new switch installed on door post for the courtesy lights) and, while there, he provided some tips on washing these cars. Simple stuff: don't get it real wet, cover the engine bay inside - esp. the electrical bits, and don't wash it more often than you have to. I put a towel over the cold engine and used the "mist" setting on my hose nozzle, relying mostly on my sheepskin wash mitt. Washing your own first Ferrari is about the coolest thing you're ever going to do on your driveway. For the big detailing this spring I'll have it done somewhere, but for the occasional rinse, the DIY approach really helps you get to know and appreciate the car. Also, it must make you look more down to earth than the elitist Ferrari owners who have Jeeves do it, right? Pininfarina must have had a bottle of the best wine to celebrate this design when it was done, just as the Ferrari factory guys did while they were building it.

I didn't have the proper solutions on hand to dress the top and spoiler, so those will wait till next time. They look very good but not great right now. Note to self: find out what Charness uses. After washing I took a short drive to finish the drying process. (Potential concern: "Sorry officer, I was trying to get all the moisture out of the undercarriage...")

2. Real drive: Saturday was flawless in San Diego (none of that brutal 50-degree wind chill we've been having...) and time for an extended drive. When you get the car at first, you don't trust it. It's older, and after reading about grenaded engines on F-Chat it seems stupid to actually drive the thing when it's looking perfectly gorgeous in your garage. Wrong. Stick the key in, turn it, let the oil pressure build, let the idle settle and back out. 2nd gear is verboten (in my car at least) till the oil temp gauge moves. I don't know what gear oil is in it, but it's new and I don't feel like changing it for kicks so in it stays till the next service later this year.

On an extended cruise, I see no other Ferraris, but a nice Bentley GT on La Jolla Scenic Drive (overlooks the ocean from the height of La Jolla) and then onto the freeway. Speedo says -- well, says I'm moving with a proper sense of uh, urgency. Yeah, that's it. Nice silver 330i is hanging with me and I notice that whatever I do with the accelerator I seem to have a pack of cars around me. California weekend traffic? Groupies? I don't see how the rosso TR guys can actually drive anywhere without the roving cluster. My car's a lot more subtle and I'm still going to contact Q branch about some front-mounted bumper missiles.

10 minutes into the drive all gauges are reading happy, including coolant, and I'm getting my first tubi lessons at 6000 rpm; gearbox is shifting beautifully, now that the owner is getting his act together.

Big blind spots in a 328 - those rear quarter grilles look they would help but - they don't. Mostly Pininfarina put them there to attract women. Flying buttress design looks great, requires some adjustment and reliance on the tiny side-mounted mirror. Fortunately the factory fitted the car with a long narrow pedal in the right part of the driver's footwell that moves all cars rearward at a decent clip for safe passing. Off on I-15 and then onto Pomerado - a 45mph road through eucalpytus that's the back way to my house. The gated gearbox actually feels normal; 2nd gear is easy and strong. Won't be using 5th again on these back roads.

Ground clearance in a 328 isn't bad. I avoid a ramp on near my accountant's office on the way back because (1) it looks cracked and steep and (2) my accountant's office is a complete bore and St. Enzo would curse me with a leak for taking his car there.

3. Fill up: This car inhales gas. Granted, I don't really care because it's a weekend driver, and I feel like a celeb when I pull into Mobil. I'm still single so I plan to fill up 2 gallons at a time every other day or so. I don't trust the auto shut off, so on level ground it looks like I'm at 1/3, which ought to be 6 gallons in those 18-gallon (total) tanks, so I add 10 of the high octane stuff and shut if off myself. Surprisingly, getting gas proves to be a normal experience. The car didn't explode, people didn't run for cover, and the prices didn't auto-adjust to $8/gallon when a Ferrari parked alongside the pump. Maybe a faulty sensor in the pavement...

4. Top off: A GTS, top removed, going at -- uh, well, moving with the aforementioned sense of urgency -- is a delight, even with the windows down. The top is a hassle to stow under its cover because that fits too tight. So I end up unfastening the bottom snaps and tucking it behind with the top ones secured. The latches are nicely done, and thing is light and easy. More importantly, I feel comfortably shielded from view in the cockpit. It's a lot more private than a full spider, and frankly the car looks even better with the top stowed.

5. Not your father's Lexus: There's always something. Major stuff you hope will never happen, minor stuff that needs doing and "some day" stuff that will bug you and no one else. Everything's working now, but minor stuff included replacing a missing rubber part behind the rear quarter grille and figuring out how to secure the dash mat after cleaning up the gooey mess from the old velcro sticker that came with the car. The car has a bit of a "petro-chemical" smell to it, which could either be charming or a problem. No visible leaks, and Gary said the cars aren't exactly odorless right after an extensive servicing. Funny, my Jeep is. But something to keep an eye - or nose - on. The brakes have a minor squeal to them, but records say the rotors were turned recently and the pads (Porterfield) look OK. Jot all this down for the first oil change/inspection here in San Diego.

6. Oil check: Modern cars don't burn oil after break in, Ferrari's supposedly do. Owner's Manual says wait 15 min then check, so I do. Note to new owners who don't want to look like idiots: the elegant handle on the dipstick is actually metal, and 15 minutes in the engine bay after running ain't gonna cool it off. Keep a shop rag nearby and use it to navigate your hand around all the sexy but hot engine parts while you're checking.

So far, so good. Even when I'm not driving it, pulling into the garage and having those four tail lights peering out at you is a very good thing. Was hoping to see another F-car driver for some silly reason - maybe the fraternity thing - but that didn't happen. Well, it almost did. Grocery run afterwards - switched to the Jeep for that, and of course a gleaming rosso F355B scoots up to the light across from me.

Ah, maybe next time.

(First part here: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95718, for background info)

 

The fuel filler neck hose was replaced last month. Maybe it's the seal inside the cap itself? Maybe I need to call Daniel...

 

True - the first time I saw a 328 I was sure it had been wrecked at some point. Then a second one. Then I figured out it was normal. This one does have its share of waviness, and it's a dark color which may emphasize it even more. Call it character. If I'd wanted a Lexus...

Rotors were turned, and pads replaced a few times, because this car was tracked back in Atlanta by another F-Chat'er. I suspect next time I'll replace the rotors and get the best pads for street use.

Peter - Thank you, and PM sent!

 

Maybe they're "Michael Schumacher" moments. I've had a couple of brief episodes... haven't wanted to push things in a new-to-me-old-car with NC temporary tags.

But let's just say there's a lady in a white minivan who now knows who's boss.